MicroTCA is a highly versatile backplane-based architecture that is utilized in a wide variety of applications. With a high-speed connector, compact size, hot-swappability, and 99.9999 percent achievable uptime, it's a powerful architecture. Particularly in military/aerospace and physics applications, end users are asking for solutions to make the architecture faster, handle more power, provide more I/O, and meet other demands of the environment. The MicroTCA/AMC vendors are stepping up to meet these requirements.

The Computer on Module (COM) market is expected to grow significantly over the next five-plus years, according to multiple market research studies. Within the COM market, COM Express is the recognized leader, with its strongest areas of growth being IIoT [industrial Internet of Things] and adoption in rugged environments, including drones, military, and transportation.

More than a decade has passed since the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced, but the vision has yet to fully materialize. While some important progress has been made with small wearable devices, thermostats, and smart phones, the average consumer hasn’t yet experienced significant advantage from interconnected devices working together for their benefit. Cloud computing, [...]

In early December 2017, I had the honor of delivering one of the keynote speeches at the DESY MicroTCA Workshop in Hamburg, Germany. The workshop was well-attended, as 183 participants from 25 institutes and 23 companies gathered to share the latest developments in MicroTCA hardware, software, and applications. The pre-workshops, held December 4 and 5, included a tutorial for MTCA.4 beginners, interoperability testing opportunities, and an introduction to ChimeraTK, a popular software suite for managing MicroTCA (and other) components. The industrial exhibition was also well attended, with 14 companies present.

Although the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged in every market segment, its implementation varies widely. In the Industrial IoT (IIoT), for example, a much more robust, reliable set of technologies is required than in the consumer world. Here, technology standards organizations will play an important role in ensuring that safety-critical IIoT systems can be developed at the lowest cost, fastest time to market, and minimize the low-level software engineering burden.

PICMG standards such as CompactPCI have been leveraged for years in aerospace and defense applications such as communications, avionics, and satellites. Today, the fastest growing standard from the PICMG experts is COM Express, thanks to its flexibility and reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) characteristics.

Recently, the U.S.-based Internet service provider OneWeb ordered 900 satellites to provide additional global broadband. Knowing that this volume is more than half of the total 1,400 satellites already in orbit, and knowing that the cost for sending one into space is about $100 million, the industry needs to start thinking about new technologies that could help manage the mass of satellites that must be produced every year.

In the current environment of "open source everything," is there still a role for PICMG and open specifications? Doug Sandy, vice president of technology and CTO for PICMG, explores the past and future of PICMG within the emerging industry landscape.

PICMG got its start back in 1994 with the development of the first edge card computing industry standard: PICMG 1.0. Since then edge card computing has evolved to incorporate the latest PCI Express interface methodology and implementation standards in the SHB Express or PICMG 1.3 industry standard.

More than a decade has passed since the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced, but the vision has yet to fully materialize. While some important progress has been made with small wearable devices, thermostats, and smart phones, the average consumer hasn’t yet experienced significant advantage from interconnected devices working together for their benefit. Cloud computing, [...]

The hottest RF and microwave technology in the military radar and electronic community continues to be Gallium Nitride (GaN). The industry is still getting educated on all the possibilities that GaN brings to the design table from a performance standp...